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Network Quality Indicator

The Network Information API has been
available in Chrome for a while, but it only provides theoretical network
speeds given the user’s connection. Imagine you’re on WiFi, but connected to
a cellular hotspot that only has 2G speeds? The API would report WiFi!

console.log(navigator.connection.type);
> wifi

In Chrome 62, the API has been expanded to provide
actual network performance metrics
from the client. Using these network quality signals, you can tailor content
to the network. For example, on very slow connections, you could improve page
load performance by serving a reduced version.

To simplify your application logic, the API returns the measured network
performance in terms of how it would compare to a cellular connection. For
example, connected to a super fast fiber connection, the API would report 4G.

console.log(navigator.connection.effectiveType);
> 4G

These signals will also be available as HTTP request headers and enabled via
Client Hints. Checkout
out the sample
and have a look at the spec for a deeper dive.

OpenType Variable Fonts

Traditionally, one font contained only a single instance of a font family,
for example one weight or one stretch. If you wanted regular, bold and italic,
you’d need to include three separate fonts, increasing the weight of your page.

An OpenType variable font is the equivalent of multiple individual fonts that
can be compactly packaged within a single font file. By adjusting the
font-variation-settings
CSS property, stretch, style, weight and more, can easily be adjusted,
providing an infinite number of stylistic variations. Those three fonts can
now be combined into a single, compact file.

Media capture from DOM elements

After invoking captureStream() on an HTML media element, the streamed
content can be manipulated, processed, sent remotely or recorded. Imagine
using web audio to create your own equalizer or vocoder. Or stream the
content to a remote site using WebRTC. The possibilities are almost endless.

Not Secure labels for some HTTP pages

As we announced
previously, starting in Chrome 62, when a user enters data on an HTTP page,
Chrome will mark the page as "Not Secure" with a label in the address bar.
This label will also be shown in Incognito Mode for all HTTP pages.

And more!

These are just a few of the changes in Chrome 62 for developers, of course,
there’s plenty more.